The strategic secret weapon for business

04 May 2017 by Annette Slunjski

When the world, driven by data, moves so fast and forces are so disruptive, business needs data-driven insight and guidance – and many are finding their strategic secret weapon to be their analytics teams.

The outcomes from the Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia (IAPA) 2016 Skills and Salary Survey indicate the relationship between business decision makers and analytics professionals is about to get stronger and more strategic as disruption from big data, cloud, mobile and cyber-security hits in 2017.

In order to survive the wave of disruption from these forces, analytics needs to be a significant part of business. As data emerges as the driving force behind business, the time of the analytics professional is now.

“There’s never been a better time to be an analytics professional – great datasets to work on, organisational support and a huge demand for skilled people. In fact, burgeoning demand is our biggest challenge,” says Jodie Sangster, CEO of IAPA.

The challenge

Reporting on the state of the Australian analytics market, the fourth IAPA Skills and Salaries Survey has highlighted building capability and skills as the biggest challenge for the industry.

The adoption of analytics within organisations has shifted the focus from analytics and insights, to the challenge of developing capability. Developing new skills (50%) and time for innovation (46%) are emerging as the biggest challenges faced by industry.

The most desirable skill in the industry for the next 12 months remains big data analytics (55%). Machine learning is next in line this year with 43% citing it as highly desirable.

The opportunity

For analytics professionals, the mix of data-driven innovation and rapidly changing business environment creates a brand-new opportunity to be recognised for your data understanding, interpretation and insight capabilities and rise through the ranks.

Even though there is a shortage of analytics professionals and demand keeps growing, organisations are still seeking the most capable, most credible candidates. Unfortunately, managers report they aren’t finding them. Sixty-seven (67) percent of managers say that applicants are under skilled and it’s no easier to find talent as it was a year ago. The issue was exacerbated by a lack of an independent; industry recognised way to prove your skills and capabilities. But that’s changed with the introduction of the IAPA Analytics Credentials.

Data Analytics Credential

IAPA is dedicated to helping analytics and data professionals, as well as the industry in general, to achieve goals, innovate and get ahead of the game. So, in conjunction with industry leaders and DeakinDigital, we’ve created the Data Analytics Credential – the first industry recognised credential that measures (and proves) your capabilities in analytics, benchmarked to industry standards.